At the End of the Day
by Kimura
Summary: Bones gets Jim a puppy after they both retire from life on a starship. Little did he know how it would change their lives ... SLASH.


_A/N: I do not own Star Trek or its characters. I make no profit from this work of fiction_

* * *

><p><em>At the End of the Day<em>

Leonard McCoy knew that transitioning from life on a starship to living planetside would not be easy. Especially not for his fiancé.

The wedding was still eight months out, but Jim had thrown himself full force into the planning, along with making lesson plans for the courses he was going to teach at the Academy in the fall. Sometimes Leonard barely saw him, other than brief appearances outside his office, when Jim would ask random questions about wedding guests and china patterns (which Leonard had told Jim firmly they did _not_ need).

He knocked on the door to Jim's office. "Jim! C'mon, I have something for you!"

"I'll be out in a minute, Bones!"

"You said that a half hour ago!" Leonard opened the door and took in the sight of Jim nearly buried in PADDs and papers. There will still boxes sitting unpacked. "Jim. It's nothing that can't wait. C'mon now."

"But –"

"The wedding's not for eight months. School doesn't start for another month and a half. We're supposed to have _less_ stress in our lives right now, not more – and _don't_ you try that pout on me James Kirk!"

Jim burst out laughing. "Wow, you sound like your mom when you say that."

Leonard rolled his eyes. "Are you coming out or what?"

"But –"

Leonard stepped around the boxes and took the PADD out of Jim's hand. "Jim. Seriously, you need to relax."

Jim chuckled lightly. "I can't believe _you_, of all people, are telling me I need to relax."

"You should listen to your doctor," Leonard said, taking Jim's hands and pulling him to his feet. "I know this is a big change for both of us. But you're not going to make it easier on yourself by working yourself into a frenzy. I've hardly seen you for three days!"

"But I need to –"

"I'd like to see the man I'm going to marry for more than fifteen minutes a day!"

Jim smirked. "You're blushing."

Leonard let his hands drop. "I am not."

"Aw, you like saying it, dontcha Bones? That you're gonna _marry_ me?"

Leonard felt the heat in his cheeks and scowled. Then he decided that two could play that game. He took Jim's left hand in his. "Yeah, well, I think _you_ like the fact that soon there will be a ring on my hand again, claiming me as yours."

A light flush painted Jim's cheeks.

Leonard yanked him close, lips against his ear. "And there will be one on your hand, claiming you as _mine_."

Jim groaned. "Okay, bedroom!"

Leonard laughed and stepped back. "Not yet. I haven't given you your present."

Jim leered at him. "I've got a present for you, Bones."

Leonard let out an exasperated sigh and dragged Jim out of the office by the arm, setting him down on the couch. "Stay, or I swear I will hogtie you."

Jim winked. "Ooh, kinky."

Leonard leaned down and kissed his forehead. "Later. Now close your eyes and hold out your arms."

Jim looked at him skeptically before doing as he asked.

Leonard went into the next room, picked up the present and placed it carefully in Jim's arms.

"What the –?" Jim cried as the puppy licked his face and neck. He laughed and opened his eyes. "Bones! You got us a puppy?"

Leonard chuckled, leaning back against the wall. "Yep."

"But that's –" The puppy licked his face again. "This is awesome!"

"Picked him up from the shelter this morning," Leonard told him. He knew it would mean more to Jim to have a rescued animal. The dog was definitely a mutt – mostly black with patches of brown and white. It seemed that he definitely was a lab cross, but his snout had the elegant shape of a collie's.

Jim scratched behind the puppy's ears. "Aw, he likes it!" He paused, looking at the couch. "Is he …?"

"He's six months old and housebroken."

"Oh, good!" He went back to running his hands through the dog's fur, deliberately sending it sticking in every direction. "Puppy fluffings! Aw, who's a good puppy? Bones, put that thing away!" He swatted at the holorecorder, but Bones kept it out of his reach.

"Oh, no. This needs to be recorded for posterity: the famous James T. Kirk, reduced to cooing by a puppy. What are you gonna call him, Jim?"

Jim rolled his eyes before flopping onto his back and letting the dog settle on his chest. "I can't make a snap decision like that, Bones! This is important."

The puppy crawled all over Jim, snuffling his chest, face, and hair – gray just starting to thread through the blond. Jim giggled helplessly.

Leonard smiled behind the camera; this was why he had bought the dog. Jim needed something to break him out of the monotony of work and wedding mayhem.

Jim lifted the puppy straight up, holding him dangling in the air. "I know! Loki! That's what we'll call him!"

"Works for me," Leonard agreed.

Jim looked over at him as he brought Loki back down to his chest for a cuddle. "Now will you turn that thing off?"

Leonard nodded and switched it off, setting it on the coffee table before sitting on the arm of the couch.

Jim just gazed up at him with his sparkling blue eyes. "Thanks, Bones."

"You're welcome, darlin'. I love you."

Jim grinned. "Love you back. Kiss?"

Leonard leaned down but got puppy kisses instead. "Damn it!"

Jim roared with laughter as he sat up with Loki in his lap.

Leonard flopped down next to them, reaching out to pet the dog. "Don't know what I was thinking. Now I'll have twice the trouble. And I let you name him after the Norse god of mischief."

Jim laughed and leaned against him. Loki settled on both their laps, tongue hanging out and tail wagging happily.

* * *

><p>Three months later, Loki had grown into a beautiful, sleek dog and become a fixture on the campus of the Academy. He would follow Jim everywhere, sitting quietly under his desk during classes and romping happily on the grounds in between.<p>

He was just as loyal to Leonard, though. Jim was endlessly amused that Loki would always greet Leonard when he came home from Starfleet Medical with his slippers. Jim would joke about Leonard finally getting the treatment an "old man" like him deserved.

Loki was ridiculously smart. The few times Jim didn't take him to class, he or Leonard would get a call that the dog had let himself out again and was wondering towards campus. On one memorable occasion, Loki had managed to replicate himself a pasta dinner and eaten most of it by the time they found him.

But there was one day in particular that Leonard would forever be grateful that he decided to bring Loki into their home.

* * *

><p>Jim picked up the basket of muffins and placed them on the counter, tossing one to Loki. "Seriously, what are people trying to do? Fatten us up?" he groused, reading the card. It was from a group of his students. "I have a tux to fit into in two days!"<p>

The kitchen and living room were full of gifts already, despite their best efforts to get their guests to donate to charity instead.

Loki barked sharply as Jim picked up one of the muffins.

"What?" Jim asked. "You already got one." He took a big bite, throwing another to Loki; he frowned when the dog ignored it and kept barking at him. "Loki! What's –" Jim felt his throat start to close up. He grasped for the kitchen counter and missed, crashing to the floor. Vision darkening, he reached for his fallen comm. _Bones … _

* * *

><p>Leonard smiled as he looked down at his comm and flipped it open. "Whaddya want, brat?"<p>

There was no sound.

Leonard frowned. "Jim? Jim, are you there? If this is your idea of a joke …" He trailed off as he heard Loki barking in alarm in the background. "Jim?"

A nurse came running up to him. "Doctor McCoy, an ambulance has just been sent to your house."

"What?"

"Someone hit the emergency comm panel."

Leonard put out a hand to steady himself against the wall. "Jim, can you hear me?" he shouted. But the only response he got was Loki barking. "Damn it."

The nurse stopped him from running off. "Doctor, the team will be there any second. You'll do him more good if you wait in the ER."

Leonard nodded, leaving the comm on. "Jim! Jim, help's on the way. Just hold tight. They'll bring you here to the ER. Darlin', if you can hear me, say _something_," he begged, panic crawling up his chest. "Or hit a button, Jim, _please_."

Loki's barking increased in frequency but decreased in volume. Leonard could hear other voices: the medical team.

"Someone answer me!" Leonard yelled. "What's wrong with him?"

"Doctor McCoy?" a confused, young male voice asked.

"Yes. Jim must have been trying to call me. Is he okay? What's happened?"

"He appears to be in anaphylactic shock. Looks like he was eating a muffin of some kind."

"The only food allergy Jim has is almonds; he's not stupid enough to –"

"No, there aren't any almonds in the one that has a bite out of it."

"Then it's not an allergic reaction! It's something else!"

"Okay, we're getting him in the ambulance now –"

"Damn it, there's no time! We need an emergency beam out!" He changed direction and ran to the emergency pad.

* * *

><p>Jim struggled through the fog, fighting for air, trying to get to the light. He could hear Bones nearby, but he couldn't reach him. The background noise quieted dramatically, making the fog harder to bear.<p>

"Bones … Bones?"

A hand reached through the fog, stroking his hair. "I'm here, Jim. You're gonna be all right."

Jim struggled harder to move and get away from the fog. "Bones!"

"Shhh, easy, Jim. You're gonna be okay. We'll fix this." Even though he could feel Bones's touch, it was as if he were talking to him down a well, and Jim couldn't get back up to the light.

Jim was frantic. He needed to get up; he was supposed to get married. "Bones, please …"

"I'm here, darlin'. S'okay. I'm gonna marry you, kid. So, you just hold on, all right?"

He let the sound of Bones's voice drift down to him and tried to be soothed by it.

"Shh, don't cry, darlin'. I'm right here. You just need to hold on, Jim. Listen to my voice and hold on."

"Bones," Jim whispered. The fog was getting thicker, but he could still hear Bones and did what he asked.

"That's good, Jim. Just hold on."

* * *

><p>Leonard stirred when Loki moved his spot on top of his feet towards the hospital door. His eyes widened. "Spock!" He leapt to his feet. "Did you find it?"<p>

"Yes, doctor. We have created an antidote to the poison." He held out a hypospray.

Leonard raised an eyebrow. "I'm off the case."

"I will not report your activities to Doctor LaPorte."

Leonard smiled and took the hypospray and gently injected it into Jim's neck. "When will we know?"

"We will take blood samples in one hour's time, but we are confident that this will reverse the effects of the poison."

"Sorry that your vacation ending up with you working in the lab—"

"No apologies are necessary, doctor. I believe that I speak for the other former members of the Enterprise crew, friends, and family when I say we are all grateful we were near when this occurred."

"Any luck on tracking the bastards who poisoned him?"

"Starfleet security has several leads they are pursuing."

Loki had gotten up and was circling and sniffing Spock curiously.

"I see Starfleet medical has permitted your pet to visit."

Leonard bent down and stroked Loki's soft fur. "Jim would be dead if it weren't for him. He hit the emergency comm when Jim fell and barked over his open comm to tell me something was wrong. We never would have gotten to him in time if Loki hadn't been quick."

There was a soft knock on the door, and Leonard saw Jim's brother standing in the doorway. "Mind if I come in?"

Leonard stood. "Come on in, Sam. We just gave Jim the antidote; he's gonna be okay."

Sam grinned bright and broken. "Thank God." He crossed over to the hospital bed and took Jim's limp hand in his own. "I knew your wedding day was gonna be an event, Jim, but this is kind of ridiculous."

Leonard laughed as he sat back down.

"I will return to the lab; I will be back in one hour to collect the blood samples," Spock stated.

"Spock?"

"Yes, doctor?"

"Send the kids home. They've been up all night, working with my staff."

Spock raised as eyebrow. "Doctor, the former crew of the Enterprise –"

"I know they're all grown up now; they're still kids to me. Tell them to get some rest."

"Very well, doctor."

"Dare I ask why you're not back there with them?" Sam asked after Spock had left.

"I got taken off the case," Leonard admitted, slumping in his chair a bit. "While we were scrambling to figure things out, Jim flatlined. I … kinda lost it. Once we got him back, Doctor LaPorte took me off duty. I guess I would have done the same thing. And Jim's been pretty restless, so I'm glad I was here."

"Bullshit, Leonard. I know you must have been hard and I –"

"I know. But it wasn't my call, and it's over now. He'll be okay."

Sam was quite for a minute. "Can he hear me?"

"He's sleeping right now, so probably not. But if you want me to go –"

"No. Stay, please. You're family now." Sam smiled up at him. "Or you will be soon." He looked down at the dog at his feet. "Hey, Loki!" He released Jim's hand and bent down to hug the dog to his chest. "Thank you." He looked over at Leonard. "Can I put him on the bed with Jim?"

Leonard smiled. "Sure. Starfleet heroes get to bend the rules a little. And hey, I'm not in charge on this case."

Sam laughed and picked up the dog, carefully setting him on the bed.

Loki sniffed Jim then looked over at Leonard hopefully.

Leonard stroked the dog's head. "Yeah, he's okay. You did good, Loki."

Apparently, satisfied, Loki walked in a circle before settling on Jim's legs, curled into a ball.

* * *

><p>When Jim awoke again, the fog was finally dissipating. He reached for the light and blinked against the brightness. "Bones?"<p>

There was a mumble to his left.

Jim blinked a few more times to clear his vision. "Bones?" He felt a warm weight on his feet and saw Loki curled up at his feet.

"Jim? Jim!"

He turned to look at his fiancé. "Bones?"

Bones grinned and kissed him. "How do you feel?"

"Tired … kinda fuzzy."

"Any pain? Trouble breathing? Nausea?"

"Nope, nope, and nope. What's Loki doing here?"

At the sound of his name, Loki sat and walked up the bed, settling down again against Jim's hip. Jim smiled and petted his head.

"He saved your life, Jim. He hit the emergency comm panel and barked at me when you tried to call."

"He tried to warn me, Bones. I mean, I guess I had no way to know, but he was barking at me not to eat it. What was in it that I was allergic to?"

Leonard sighed. "Nothing that normally be there, Jim. Someone deliberately poisoned you."

Jim's eyes widened and then he looked down at Loki. "Is he okay? Oh my God, did they poison him, too?"

"Easy, Jim, he's fine," Bones answered, stroking the back of his neck. "Whoever did this knew you're allergic to almonds. So, they poisoned the other muffins, the ones they knew you would eat. Loki had one with almonds."

Jim lay back in relief. "Good. Do we know who tried to kill me?"

"No. But Starfleet's working on it. Don't worry about it for now."

Jim looked away. "I missed our wedding day, didn't I?"

Bones cupped his chin and gently turned his head until their eyes met again. "No, you didn't. There's still a few hours left, darlin'."

"I'm sor –"

Bones cut him off with a kiss, long and sweet. "Don't you dare. This wasn't your fault. I'm just … Jesus, Jim, I nearly lost you." Bones pulled him into a hug; he could tell his fiancé was trying not to cry.

Jim managed to get his arms around him and hug back. "Thanks, Bones."

"Wasn't me that found the cure. Spock, Chekov, Sulu, Chapel, and some of her assistants have been working with the hospital staff around the clock to figure it out."

Jim pulled back. "Really?"

Bones nodded. "They were all in town for the wedding, so once word got around …"

Jim groaned. "So, everyone knows?"

"Well, since we didn't end up having a wedding today, they were going to find out sooner or later. And anyway, I'm glad. Having the extra hands helped."

"So, when do I get out of here?"

Leonard chuckled as he poured Jim a cup of water and handed it to him. "Within the next forty-eight hours, if everything looks good. But you're going to need a lot of rest."

Jim groaned again before drinking the water. "So … no wedding."

Bones took his hand and squeezed it. "Darlin', I'd marry you right now, if that's what you wanted. I don't need a fancy place to do it, or a lot of people watchin'. I just want to marry you; that's all that's important." He stood, still holding Jim's hand and pushed his chair back before dropping to one knee. "That what you want, Jim? You want it to be today?"

Jim knew he was blushing. "I … not like this, Bones. Not when I can't even stand up."

Bones got back to his feet and leaned over to kiss him again. "Okay. You just tell me what you want, and we'll work it out."

"Can I get up tomorrow?"

"I would think so."

Jim smiled. "Then marry me tomorrow."

* * *

><p>The wedding was moved over one day, and the location was changed to the hospital cafeteria (though the original caterers agreed to still serve the food and cake). Jim wore black sweats, and Leonard wore crisp, white scrubs. Sam wheeled Jim down the aisle and helped him stand when he got to the front. There was no music, and the guest list had been trimmed by necessity. There were balloons instead of the greenery Jim had chosen, but at least they didn't have to worry about Loki trying to pee on them.<p>

The happy couple had requested that there be only a few pictures, since they still planned to have a formal celebration once Jim had recovered. Pike stepped in to perform the ceremony. But despite all the changes, Jim and Leonard still grinned at each other ridiculously and glowed like all newlyweds do.

After being pronounced married and making out like teenagers, they made their way back up the aisle to the applause of the attendees. They were halfway there when Jim stumbled.

Leonard caught him, pulling Jim's arm over his shoulders. "I gotcha. C'mon, kid. Just a few more steps," he coaxed.

Jim swallowed back tears and managed a weak smile before walking the last few steps.

Once they were in the hall, Leonard scooped him up and deposited him in the wheelchair that Sam had brought around.

Leonard knelt in front of him. "Jim? You okay?"

Jim wiped his eyes and found another smile. "Yeah. What's that thing you said to me? 'If at the end of the day you're married, it went well.'"

Leonard chuckled and kissed him. "Yeah, darlin'. It went well. I love you."

Jim sighed happily as their foreheads rested against each other. "I love you, too. Hey, Bones?"

"Mm?"

"Since you wore white, doesn't that make you the bri –"

Leonard silenced him with another kiss. "C'mon, let's get back in there and get some damn cake. I need an excuse to throw something at you."

Jim laughed as Leonard wheeled him back in to join their friends and family.


End file.
